What D'you Know? (Nothing, 'til You Ask)
by rainshatteredsky
Summary: Jackie needs some advice and she knows just the person. She may not be aware just yet, but she has much more support behind her than she knows. It takes a little courage to keep on climbing, but even if you stumble, you can't let yourself fall. (Soul Eater NOT! Timeline, for the SE Gift Exchange)


For whowouldevenreadthis.

This was written for the Soul Eater Fandom Holiday Gift Exchange on Tumblr! Jackie is one of my favorite characters in Soul Eater, and I jumped at the chance to write some TsuLiz.

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A girl with dark brunette hair ran up the steps in front of the Academy, chasing after a slender figure more than halfway to the top. She stopped for a second, hands on her knees as she caught her breath, and then swallowed hard before taking off in a sprint again. It seemed like an eternity before she reached the taller weapon, who turned gracefully to greet her.

"Oh, good morning Jackie!" Tsubaki said brightly. To Jackie's relief, she didn't move to resume climbing, and instead seemed quite content to stand and talk while the other weapon panted like a dog. "Is something the matter?"

"N-no," she replied, looking away in embarrassment. The idea had been to catch Tsubaki at the _bottom_ of the steps to arrange a time to talk where they wouldn't be overheard, but Jackie had spent just a little too long making sure her bun was perfect that morning. Not a hair had been out of place when she'd come out of her room, but thanks to her mad dash under the burning sun, her carefully sculpted bun was loose and wisps were falling down at the nape of her neck.

Jackie straightened up, feeling absolutely disgusting when a drop of sweat slid down her temple to her chin. At this rate she'd have to go back to the dorms, get ready all over again, and then make the climb for the second time, only to arrive so ridiculously late that showing up would be essentially pointless. But she'd this far already, so she thought she should just get it over with and blurt out her question before she melted from heat, or anxiety, or a combination of the two.

"Is it true you like girls?" she asked so quickly that it came out in a garbled clump of syllables. Immediately Jackie clamped her hand over her mouth, horrified that she'd asked so boldly. It was hardly polite, let alone proper, but she was so mortified that she couldn't even bring herself to stutter out an apology.

Tsubaki blinked once, twice- not offended, just very confused. "Yes, why?"

Jackie moved her hands to cover more of her face, including her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at the kindly demon weapon. "It's just that… I really like a girl! And I don't know how to tell her. I don't even know if she likes girls!" She took one of her hands away, the other still shielding the majority of her features, and began gesturing wildly. "Please don't tell anyone, okay? Oh Death, I'm so embarrassed."

Tsubaki laughed softly, but it wasn't in a mean way. She reached out to touch the younger weapon's shoulder, giving it a comforting pat that only served to make Jackie blush even more furiously. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about Jack, and I would never tell anyone if you didn't want me to. Did you want to talk about it?"

Jackie peered out from between a crack in her fingers to look at her… acquaintance? Classmate? Fellow weapon? Whatever Tsubaki was to her, it didn't necessarily constitute friendship. Jackie knew that she came off as a bit stuck up, or even as she had heard floating around, straight laced. It wasn't that she didn't want friends, she was just unsure of how to make them. The only person she'd really tried to reach out to (who was coincidentally the girl she'd fallen for) thought she was overbearing and weird, and therefore annoying. No, Jackie really didn't have the best grasp on friendship, but she knew from a book she'd checked out from the library the week before that friendships were often built on shared experiences. She and Tsubaki were both female weapons in the EAT class who liked girls, so Jackie hoped that was a good enough start.

"I-If you don't mind," she answered after a moment of hesitation. "It's all so new to me," Jackie continued, her hands now loosely clasped in front of her and doing a poor job of not fidgeting. "I don't know what to do because there's just so much to consider. When she talks to me I can never tell if she's serious or just poking fun and then I look like a fool when I ask. Se's so secretive I'm not even sure what kinds of things she likes- I was told girls like presents- and, and I want to spend time with her but I can never get up the nerve to suggest anyth-"

"I'm going to stop you there," Tsubaki said kindly. "It's okay to not know what you're doing, because humans will always be unpredictable." She held up one finger and continued, "The best thing you can do is communicate. You don't need to give her presents, or know everything about her, because all that can come later. If you really do like her just try talking to her normally, and if there is a good opportunity to bring the subject up, all you have to do is ask if she wants to go on a date. I'm making it sound simpler than it is, I know, but sometimes that's the best way to approach a big problem- break it into small steps."

Jackie listened, enraptured by the advice. Suddenly, it all seemed so simple! Perhaps she'd been reading too many books lately (the greatest love stories all seemed to include grand gestures) to think clearly. It was a bit of a relief to know that nothing extraordinary (exciting, tragic, or otherwise) needed to happen to get the attention of the girl of her dreams.

Tsubaki smiled, seeing how the lantern's face lit up (thankfully metaphorically rather than literally; she'd heard that Jackie had a tendency to burst into flames when emotionally) and put her hands on her hips, thoroughly self satisfied.

"Is it really that easy?" Jackie asked in a state of wonder, "You just… ask? How can you be so sure?"

Here, it was Tsubaki's turn to blush. Her shoulders rolled forward as if she were trying to make herself look smaller, but being as tall as she was, it just made her collarbones more prominent and her arms look too long for her body. Jackie's eyes widened at this unusual posturing, and she had to stifle a smile behind a hand. Clearly, she thought, Tsubaki was hiding something juicy.

"Well, that is, because…" Tsubaki waved her hands in front of her, just as Jackie had done only moments ago. "Um, well, you see…"

"Hey losers, what'cha standing around for? You're going to be late. And here I was, thinking you were the goodie two shoes," a mystery person called from behind them. Whoever it was had a warm, feminine voice that sounded vaguely familiar to Jackie. As it was, she still whirled around fast (so fast she nearly lost her balance) to see the person intruding on their highly sensitive conversation, while Tsubaki stood frozen to the spot with her hands frozen over her face.

A step or two below them was a young woman that Jackie vaguely recognized. She was tall like Tsubaki and just as slender, and although Jackie couldn't read souls, something about the defensive way the newcomer held herself screamed weapon as opposed to meister. "You're-"

"Liz, " the girl finished, impatiently but not unkindly. "And you're Jaqueline, a fancy EAT weapon like my Tsun-Tsun Tsu-Tsu, who's gonna make her late for class. She's trying to get into the top five on the stupid test you have next week, so she needs to review."

Jackie blinked twice, her brain trying to process all the new information so rapidly that she was sure an onlooker would actually be able to see the cogs turning in her head. It wasn't so odd that Liz would know her name or about the Super Written Exam even if she wasn't a student (since she had done a few sponsorships in the last year and _everyone_ had to take the exam) but aside from the odd nickname, one detail in particular stood out to her.

"Did you just… Did you call Tsubaki yours?" Jackie glanced at her, only to find she still hadn't moved. "Are you…"

"Mmhm," Liz hummed in agreement, a small smirk turning up the corners of her lips as she folded her arms across her chest. "We're dating, going steady, in a relationship, fuc-"

"Liz!" Tsubaki nearly shrieked, though she still didn't turn around. Her blush had spread to her ears by that point, making her look quite silly when Jackie turned her head to look at her.

"What?" Liz asked, using a hand to tuck a stray piece of honey blonde hair behind her ear. "She asked, and I told her."

"Still!" Tsubaki protested, but quieted when Liz took another step forward so she was just behind her. The girl wrapped her arms around the dark haired girl's waist, who then melted back into her touch. Liz craned her neck to kiss Tsubaki's cheek, but couldn't quite reach, so she settled for a peck just behind her ear. Her eyes never left Jackie's as if to say _I dare you to comment, scum_. Wisely Jackie said nothing, though this did result in a slightly awkward pause.

"So," Jackie said weakly, shrinking back from Tsubaki's supposed girlfriend. "I guess that's how you know? From experience?"

Liz's eyes twinkled, even as her fingers danced on Tsubaki's sides, making the weapon double over giggling and try to pull her hands away. "Asking for advice, are we?" She snorted, leaning back a bit so she could shake her head without jostling her girlfriend. "I knew it, you're as straight as circle. I told you gay-dar is a thing, Tsu." She released the girl, who immediately ran up a few steps as if afraid she was about to be tickled again, but was smiling as if she wouldn't really mind. Jackie marveled at the two girls who seemed so at ease with each other, but Liz managed to catch her eye with a sharp glance which sobered her up immediately.

"Really though, kid, it's probably not as hard as you're makin' it out to be. Just ask. If she likes you, she likes you, and if she doesn't… well, then you know. Worked out pretty good for me."

Just then, they heard light footsteps approaching behind them on the stairs. They all turned to look at the newcomer, and Jackie felt her stomach drop. It was a girl with short windswept hair and striped thigh high socks that were sliding down her legs that slowed as she approached them, but didn't bother stopping.

"C'mon straight edge, aren't you the one who always says it's bad form to be late?" Kim called, flying right past their little group. Jackie looked uncertainly between Tsubaki and Liz, who exchanged a knowing glance. Tsubaki smiled encouragingly and Liz winked, jerking her head as if to say 'go and get her.'

Jackie needed no more persuasion and took off after the fleet footed meister yelling, "Kim, wait up!"


End file.
